Golf ball tee



1962 c. B. OVERBAUGH 3,

GOLF BALL TEE Filed May 5, 1960 INVENTOR. Charles B. Overbaugh BY WHITEHEAD, v0 61. a LOWE ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,063,722 GOLF BALL TEE Charles B. Overbangh, P.0. Box 842, Denver, Colo. Filed May 5, 1960, Ser. No. 27,109 Claims. (Cl. 273-210) This invention relates to supports for spherical objects, and more particularly to a support for golf balls, and the invention will thus be hereinafter referred to as a tee. Reference is made to my application filed October 22, 1953 for Golf Ball Tee, Serial Number 387,885 which was issued as Patent Number 2,809,839 on October 15, 1957, and to my application filed March 15, 1956 for Golf Ball Tee, Serial Number 571,853 which was issued as Patent Number 2,898,110 on August 4, 1959, for the present invention is a development from and improvement over the structures disclosed in these issued patents.

The objects of the present invention are to provide a novel and improved tee construction which: is formed of a small rectangular blank of sheet material such as cardboard; is of a structure that may be shaped by a single stamping operation; is a unit so cheap in cost that advertising material may be printed on its surface to defray the cost of manufacture and so cheap that it may be discarded after a use or two; may be formed as a part of another cardboard object such as the flap of a standard matchbook; may be furnished for distribution as single units or as groups in book form.

Other objects of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved tee construction which is especially easy to fold from a fiat cardboard blank to a structure adapted to hold and support a golf ball in position against wind and similar disturbances: includes counterfolded tabs which assist in supporting a ball on the tee and at the same time helps to prevent the tee from collapsing, especially when it is mounted upon a smooth surface; requires an absolute minimum instruction in acquain'ting a user in mounting a ball therein; and is a neat-appearing functional unit well adapted for the purpose at hand.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, all of which more fully hereinafter appear, my invention com prises certain novel and improved constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts and' elements as hereinafter described, defined in the appended claims and il lustrated in preferred embodiments in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of my improved tee supporting a golf ball.

FIGURE 2 is an edge elevation view of the tee supporting the ball.

FIGURE 3 is an isometric view of the tee per se as in position for receiving a golf ball.

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of a blank of the tee before it is folded into the ball-receiving position.

FIGURE 5 is an isometric view, similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating a modified embodiment of the tee.

FIGURE 6 is an edge elevation view similar to FIG. 2, of the modified tee supporting the ball.

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of a blank for the modified tee before it is folded into the ball-receiving position.

The improved golf ball tee herein described is basically a rectangular blank folded to a general tent-like shape. The transverse ridge along the top edge thereof includes a ball-retaining saddle in the ridge. As such, the golf ball tee can be classified as being of the general type disclosed in the reference patents hereinbefore referred to. Certain disadvantages and limitations were discovered in those prior constructions. One of these prior constructions had a saddle construction which did not satisfactorily hold a golf ball under some circumstances and would sometimes collapse under the weight of the ball. The

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other used an excessive quantity of material and was cumbersome in form. Actually, the cost of material in a single tee is comparatively insignificant, but the use of such tees for advertising purposes where large numbers are printed at minimum cost makes the material cost an important factor. With such in view, the present invention was conceived, developed and tested, and comprises, in essence, a ten-type golf ball tee having an improved ball-retaining saddle in its ridge which helps to stabilize the tent form when holding the ball, as hereinafter described in detail.

Referring more particularly to the embodiment illustrated at FIGS. 1 to 4, the improved tee 10 is formed as a blank 10a of cardboard or similar sheet material and this blank is suitably scored and cut in the center portion to provide the contemplated form when folded for final use as in the manner illustrated. The ridge 11 is a folded edge defined by a fold score 11a on the blank which extends transversely across the rectangular unit to divide it into two identical panels 12 and 12a.

It follows that the longitudinal edges 13a of the rectangular blank will form the inclined sides 13 of the tentshaped tee and the transverse end edges 14a of the blank form the base edges 14 of the tee when so ultimately folded. These edges 14 will lie in spaced parallelism with the ridge-fold edge 11. As hereinafter set forth, the tee 10 is especially stable against collapse resulting from the panels spreading apart when a ball mounted is upon it. This may occur especially when the tee is mounted upon a flat smooth surface that cannot grip the base edges 14. To deter such action base edges 14 may be concaved and pointed as at 14b, indicated at FIG. 4 in broken lines, or by any other manner, as by serrating the edges 14.

Inherent in the construction of the unit, the ridge 11 will lie horizontally when the tee is folded to its characteristic tent-shape illustrated at FIGS. 1 to 3, and the improved ball retaining saddle 15 is formed in the center portion of this ridge. This saddle is formed by two opposing rectangular tabs 16 and 16a which are folded out of the plane of their respective panels 12 and 12a. Each tab 16 is transversely centered in its panel with its transverse upper edge 17 extending outwardly from the ridge 11, with longitudinal side cuts 18 permitting it to be folded outwardly from its panel and with a connecting base fold edge 19 lying in spaced parallelism with the upper edge 17. In the blank 10a the cuts at edges 17 and 18 defining the tabs 16 and 16a form a balanced H with the crossbar of the H being defined by the edge 17 cut at and as a continuation of the ridge line 11a. The base fold edges 19 are formed by suitable transverse score lines across each end of the legs of the H-shaped cut.

The tabs 16 and 16a of the tee 10 are folded outwardly from the ridge sufficiently to permit the inner opposing points 20 of the ridge 11 at each side of the saddle to contact the ball B placed on the tee. These points 20 sustain most of the weight of the ball B while the edges 17 of the tabs 16 and 16a contact the surface of the ball B to stabilize the ball in its position on the tee. The tabs are pushed outwardly by the weight of the ball until the points 20 are contacted. This outward pushing of the tabs with a bending action at the fold edges 19 tends to push the tent-shaped-folded panels 12 and 12a together to counteract any tendency for the panels to spread apart at their base edges 14. It is immediately manifest that the scoring at the fold edges 19 should be light and that these fold edges should not be bent excessively when folding them outwardly because of their resistance to folding or bending will tend to keep the panels 12 and 12a in their folded tent shape. It also becomes manifest that the fold lines 19 should be of substantial length to provide as great a bend resistance as possible.

Patented Nov. 13, 1962 The modified'tee illustrated at FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 is substantially the same as that heretofore described and is formed from a blank 10a which is divided into panels 12' and 12a. The ridge 11, longitudinal edges 13 and base edges 14 are the same as hereinbefore described. Howeverg'the saddle 15' is modified and is comparatively deeper than the saddle 15. The deeper saddle is especially adapted to form a tee which resists wind eliects and similar disturbances. The spacing of the points of the ridge of the saddle 15 is increased in width to permit the ball B to set deeper into the saddle before it contacts these inner ridge points 20'. The tabs 16" and 16a" 'are likewise spaced lower with the contacting upper edges 17 being below the ridge 11. This modifies the general shape of the cutout in the blank 10a, in that the center cuts which form the edges 17 of the tabs 16 and 16a are spaced apart and at each side of the ridge edge 11' to eliminate a portion of the center of the blank to leave a rectangular cutout .21 between the opposing edges 17 of the two tabs and a wide crossbar portion of the H-shaped cut;

The manner 'ofmounting a ball in this modified unit is substantially the same as that heretofore described. A

substantial portion of the weight of the ball B is carried on the points 20' with the ball also contacting the tab 'edges 17 at their center points of the outfolded tabs 16' and 16a and to hold the ball in position and at the same time assist in keeping the panels 12 and 12a in their proper folded position.

While I have now described my invention in considerable detail it is obvious that others skilled in the art can build and devise alternate and equivalent constructions which are within the spirit and scopm i my invention; hence, I desire that my protection be limited, not by the constructions illustrated and described but only by the proper scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a supporting tee for a golf ball or the like of selected diameter comprising a substantially rectangular member of sheet, substantially rigid, bendable material transversely folded into two flat, substantially-rectangular panels, to a tent form, with the fold edge forming a lineal ridge along the top edge thereof, with the edges of each panel opposite to the fold edge forming base edges, and a ball-retaining saddle at the center portion of the ridge, said saddle comprising a rectangular tab in 'each panel adjacent to the ridge having its side edges perpendicular to, and its top and bottom edges parallel with, the ridge edge, and having its side and top edges cut out of the panel and its bottom edge foldably connected to the panel and being adapted to be folded outwardly from the plane of its panel, and with the width of each tab being less than the said selected ball diameter, whereby a ball mounted within the saddle will rest against and with its weight upon the opposing substantially-unyielding ridge points at each end of the saddle and with the outwardly folded edges of the'tabs contacting the ball at each side of the ridge and serving to balance and hold the ball in position in the middle.

2. The tee defined in claim 1, wherein the top edge of each tab is at'the ridge of the tee.

3. The tee defined in claim 1, wherein the top edge of each tab is spaced below the ridge of the tee.

4. A blank of substantially-rigid, bendable sheet material for a supporting tee for a golf ball or the like sphere of selected diameter, which is adapted to be formed as a two-panel, tent-shaped stand having a folded edge connecting the panels and defining a lineal ridge along the top thereof, and a ball receiving saddle in the ridge formed as a cutout with rectangular tabs being folded outwardly from the panels at each side of the ridge, said blank being generally rectangular in form with a central transverse fold line dividing it into said panels and with the fold line forming said ridge edge when the panels are folded to a tent-form, a longitudinal cut parallel and adjacent to the fold line at the center portion of each panel, a transverse cut in each panel at each end of the longitudinal cut, extending from the fold line tothe center portion of it's panel and a longitudinal fold line in the center portion of each panel connecting the ends of the transverse cuts in the panel, with the portions 7 between the cuts being adapted to be folded outwardly from the plane of the panels to form said tabs.

5. In the blank defined in claim 4, said longitudinal cuts being at the central fold line as a single cut.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,593,458 McBride July 20, 1926 2,103,026 Van Valkenburg Dec. 21, 1937 2,809,839 Overbaugh Oct. 15, 1957 2,898,110 Overbaugh Aug. 4, 1959 

